


Unconditional

by electrictoes



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-26
Updated: 2009-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:33:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28935579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electrictoes/pseuds/electrictoes
Summary: Jack has a nightmare. Wee bit of h/c.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Kudos: 5





	Unconditional

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to livejournal.

Ianto did his very best to not cry out as Jack’s fist pummelled into his stomach. He bit his lip and shifted across the bed, out of punching range. He took a moment or two to catch his breath while Jack continued to flail his limbs about the bed. Ianto got up and walked around the bed, standing behind Jack. He reached over, placing a warm hand on his lover’s shoulder and gently shaking him into wakefulness.

Jack’s eyes flew open and he screamed.

Ianto sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping his arms around Jack. Jack tried to fight him off but Ianto held firm. “Jack,” he said. “Jack, it’s me. Jack.” He forcibly turned Jack’s head. “Look at me. It’s Ianto.”

“Ianto?” Jack’s eyebrows knotted together in confusion and Ianto gently brushed the hair back from his lover’s sweat covered forehead.

“Ianto,” Ianto confirmed, watching and waiting for the recognition in Jack’s eyes. It came after a few seconds and Jack went limp in his arms.

“Ianto,” he whispered, dropping his head to Ianto's shoulder. “Ianto.”

Ianto ran his hands over his lover’s back gently, soothingly. “I’ve got you,” he murmured, waiting for Jack to fully relax.

He pulled away when he did, looking up at Ianto with wide eyes. “I... did I hit you?”

Ianto shook his head, ignoring the fact that he’d likely be black and blue in the morning. Jack could berate him for lying later. “I’m okay.”

“Sorry,” Jack whispered, making to get out of the bed. “I’ll go.”

“Go?” Ianto asked, eyebrows raised. “Go where?”

Jack ran a hand through his hair. “Back to, err, back to the Hub. I’m sorry.”

Ianto moved across the bed, taking hold of Jack’s shoulders and anchoring him in place. “You’re not going anywhere tonight.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” Jack told him, his voice far more shaky than most people ever got to see.

Ianto shook his head and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to Jack’s forehead. “It’s okay,” he promised. “I know.” He slipped back a little, giving Jack the space he knew he’d need. “I’ll get you some water, just lie back, you’re not leaving.”

Ianto almost made it to the door before Jack spoke. “Ianto,” his voice was firmer now, but still tinged with emotion.

“Jack?” Ianto asked, giving his lover a small smile.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Ianto nodded. “I didn’t think you would.”

They stared at each other for a long moment before Ianto turned back to the door.

“I’ll get that water.”

He returned a few moments later, water in hand, and sat on the opposite site of the bed from Jack, holding out the water and watching the older man carefully. Jack took the water and sipped at it, watching Ianto with a sad look in his eyes. Ianto didn’t push; he didn’t like to talk about his nightmares, he wasn’t going to put Jack through that ordeal, wasn’t going to show him any less respect than Jack had shown him.

Jack finished his water and his breathing regulated, but he was still watching Ianto carefully. He looked miserable. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the headboard for a moment before opening them again. “Have I scared you?” he asked, fear in his voice.

“What?” Ianto asked. “No.”

“Then why are you sat so far away?”

Ianto shrugged. “Thought you’d want space.”

Jack shook his head and Ianto moved across the bed, letting Jack move into his embrace. They sat like that, not speaking, not moving, for what could have been ten minutes or ten hours, but was actually about forty minutes, before Ianto felt Jack move. When he looked down the older man appeared to have drifted off to sleep and Ianto dropped a kiss to the top of his head. “Sleep, then.” He said, smiling to himself. “You sleep, Captain.”

“I’m trying,” Jack said, his voice far lighter than it had been earlier.

Ianto laughed. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I was hoping you’d think that and then declare your undying love for me or something.”

Ianto laughed again, not caring that the movement caused Jack’s head to bounce a little. “Is this a romance novel?”

Jack shook his head. “God, no.”

“When I tell you I love you, I’d like for you to be awake,” Ianto said.

Jack lifted his head a little. “Was that not telling me?”

Ianto rolled his eyes. “No. Go back to sleep.”

“Do you love me, Ianto Jones?” Jack asked, a teasing grin on his face.

“I’m not going to answer that,” he said, and then ran his finger’s along the side of Jack’s face. “But I will tell you that I like you a lot.”

“Hmm?”

Ianto shrugged. “Enough to get back in bed when you punch me in the stomach.”

“You said I didn’t hit you,” Jack said, his face flooding with guilt.

“I didn’t want you get any more upset,” he argued, his fingers now tracing Jack’s jaw line. “You can kiss it better if you want,” he said, a small smile on his face.

“Okay,” Jack responded, and slid down the bed. Ianto swatted at his head.

“Not _now_ , Jack!” He said, laughing again.

Jack grinned at him and moved back up the bed, flopping down on the pillows beside Ianto. “Thank you,” he said, quietly tugging Ianto close to him. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Ianto reassured him. “I told you.”

“You’ve told me lots of things tonight, Ianto.”

Ianto shook his head. “I’ve told you that, at some point, I will tell you something. That’s not the same thing,” he protested.

“Mm,” Jack murmured, his eyes half closed. “Either way,” he said, his fingers trailing Ianto’s hipbone, “I feel the same.”


End file.
